


Smithereens

by disaster_by_chance



Series: Stony Oneshots [4]
Category: Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal Life, Based on a Twenty One Pilots Song, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve is one feisty boyfriend, people are jerks, tony is worried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:39:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22111975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disaster_by_chance/pseuds/disaster_by_chance
Summary: Tony loves his sickly, skinny, sweet boyfriend a lot, but he wishes that he would stop picking fights with people.
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Tony Stark
Series: Stony Oneshots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589476
Kudos: 9





	Smithereens

**Author's Note:**

> Just a little thing written for an amazing friend.
> 
> For the full feel, listen to 'Smithereens' by Twenty One Pilots.

Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair as he sat down on his couch, the frail body of his stupid, reckless boyfriend laying down next to him covered in bruises, cuts, and bandages. He looked over at the sleeping male and sighed, a small smile creeping onto his face as he gently put a hand on his leg. 

Tony found it pretty hard to believe that this blond sleeping beauty, even with the black eye and bruises, was someone who picked fights in the back corners of alleys, or generally where ever he went. He knew Steve to be an extremely loving and caring guy, and it had been one of the many reasons why Tony fell in love with him. What he lacked in health, he made up in heart, and Tony sometimes hated how sickly sweet and kind Steve was to people around him and to Tony, who didn't believe he deserved it. 

_'You know, I've always been collected, calm and chill'_

But he knew Steve, and he knew that Steve didn't keep the sweet, innocent angel act when it came to certain people. People who were bullies, close-minded or just jerks in general often found themselves in situations where a 90 pound, asthmatic blond was throwing punches at them in a back alley. And sometimes Tony didn't know if he should laugh or cry at the fact that Steve was always up for a brawl of sorts, despite his conditions, and despite his structure, constantly putting himself in danger. But he _had_ to fight for what was right, for what he believed in, he _had_ to be the hero. But it was only when he was called to do so, if there was no reason to fight, if they could settle things like civilized people, Steve would never pick a fight. If anything, most fights were picked by the other and Steve just didn't run away. He'd told Tony he was tired of running and that there was no point in it. But he was still an idiot for letting people punch his face in.

_ 'And you know, I never look for conflict for the thrill' _

The times in where Tony hated when Steve got into fights, is when the topic of Tony was involved. And it happened a lot. They would get yelled at whenever they were out in public, people would mess with them, call names, push Steve around and spit at Tony. He knew part of their behavior was Tony's fault, from how he used to run his company, from his old reputation, from his father's reputation. Some people just didn't know Tony liked Steve knew Tony, and that's why they'd treat him as such. And some people didn't know Steve like Tony knew Steve. And he hated that because no one should be pushed into an alley and beaten and kicked because of who they love. No one should have to face several guys at once, all by themselves, over the fact that they can't open their hearts and minds to new ideas and the fact that people change. The ones Tony hated the most were the ones who wanted to just silence Steve. Whenever he spoke his mind about something and someone didn't like what he said, Steve never backed down, and this pissed some people off, prompting them to take advantage of Steve's weak and small state and just kick the crap out of him.

And it wasn't fair. Wasn't fair to the both of them. That Steve had to deal with his health issues and then have to deal with physical injuries every time he tries to fight for what's right in his eyes. That Tony had to be in constant worry over the fact that one day, someone might kill his boyfriend if they took it too far. And for what? Because they loved each other? Because Steve was easy to take advantage of? Because Tony didn't have a clean record? 

Sometimes Tony just hated everyone except Steve.

And sometimes he hated Steve. 

Steve who didn't back down when he should because he knows he can't take it. But _oh no_ , Tony thought with a chuckle and shake of his head, he could do this all day. And Tony hated it. Call him selfish, but he wanted to keep his boyfriend around for as long as he could, thank you very much. He didn't know how much time he really had with Steve, with all the conditions the male struggled with, so he didn't want to lose him to some bigot who couldn't see that punching a sick man behind the theaters, to the point of where Steve died wasn't wrong. 

And the worst part of the thought was the fact that Tony would often think of that scenario playing out after the person mentioned Tony in a bad way, causing Steve to be the caring boyfriend he was, and give the person a piece of his mind. And it had happened before, where Steve got seriously beaten up after standing up for Tony, and it had gotten so bad that Tony had a talk with him for about two hours on how Steve should just let them say whatever they wanted about Tony because he was used to bad press and criticism, and that Tony didn't really care because he had Steve, and that was all he really wanted. And while Steve reluctantly agreed to refrain from picking fights with people who didn't like Tony and were obnoxiously verbal about it, he still managed to get into a fight with someone after they'd said that they'd wished Tony would've died already in some weapons testing malfunction, just over the fact that they didn't like that he wasn't selling weapons anymore to help protect the country. 

And that's why he was laying on the couch, covered in bandages.

_'But if I'm feeling, someone stepping towards you, can't describe just what I'm feeling'_

Tony sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back into the sofa. The hand on Steve's leg slowly trailed up and down, gently rubbing it, as if he was making sure the blond was still there. And of course he was, the injured idiot wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. A shift in the couch and the small groaning of Steve notified Tony that the other was awake. He opened his eyes quickly and sat up, looking over at Steve. 

"Hey, Steve, hun, you okay?" Tony asked quietly with a small frown of concern, removing his hand since he was afraid it might be hurting him or something. When Steve didn't reply, Tony moved to get up, wanting to kneel by Steve on the floor next to the couch but Steve sat up, prompting Tony to stop and lean back into the couch.

"M' fine.." Steve muttered, hand on his side as he made an effort to sit up. "Just stay there," He told Tony, not wanting him to move, "your legs are warm."

Tony chuckled and moved his legs back in place, "Alright, if you say so.." He was silent for a bit before drawing a shaky breath and looking over at Steve's black and blue body. "Are you...okay?" He asked quietly, giving Steve a look of concern. 

Steve smiled a little and nodded, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh he answered, "Yeah...Always." He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times before fixing his gaze on Tony. "What? Were you worried?" He smiled teasingly, knowing very well that he was. He always was. 

"Worried?" Tony repeated, letting out a breath. He ran a hand through his hair, gripping it tightly at the end and pulling before letting the hand drop onto his thigh with a loud clap. He felt his vision start to blur as tears formed in his eyes. He quickly blinked them back and tried to hold back the years of hurt piling up inside of him, but this was his breaking point. "Steve! You _know_ I'm worried! I worry about your ass all the time! I never know if you've gotten into a fight in a back alley, or if you got killed, or if something horrible happened to you, o-or if someone took you and I couldn't find you." His voice cracked as he shook his head, trying his best not to lose it. "You're lucky I found you," Tony snapped, turning to look at him, pointing an accusing finger at him, "Damn lucky. You know you can't even take on one person even _slightly_ bigger than you, let alone two guys!" He put his hand down and frowned, "And for what?" He kept his gaze on Steve, eyes slightly narrow, vision blurry from tears. "Because they said something bad about me?" His voice went quiet. "Because you couldn't just..just ignore them for once? Just ignore them Steve. _Please_." He reached out and took Steve's bony hand, gripping it tightly, but not enough to hurt him. " _Please_ stop fighting. _Please_ stop standing up for me. You just get hurt, and you can't be getting hurt, Steve. I don't care what the people say, Steve. I..I try to tell you, but you don't listen. Y-you just insist, and _insist_ , on fighting for what you believe in.." Tony swallowed and closed his eyes for a second before opening them again. "Steve, I-I can't lose you. The only reason why I put up with all the critics, with all the haters..Is because I have you." His voice was almost a whisper now, "You're the one good thing I have in this awful world. The one warm being in my cold, dark world. Steve," He practically begged, "I-i can't lose you. People can say what they want about me, they're entitled to opinions, even the ones who take it too far, I couldn't care less so long as you're with me. A-and if you..If something-" He shook his head, gathering his words, "I-if something happened to you. Something that took you away from me...Steve, I-i wouldn't be able to live with myself anymore. N-not with you gone." He shook his head. "And it would be even worse if the reason why you're gone is because of me..."

Steve blinked at Tony's reaction. He stared down at Tony's hand in his, feeling guilt fill up inside him. The other's voice was laced with so much hurt and pain, worry, fear, and slight anger, it was impossible for Steve to feel bad. He never wanted this for Tony. He had no idea the extent of his worry, he'd always thought it was basic significant other worries. But that wasn't the case. He could see this now. 

With a swallow and a shaky sigh, Steve brought up Tony's hands to his cut lips and kissed the top of it gently. Tony wiped his eyes with his other hand and sniffed, "My knight in shining armor." He pulled his hand away, his voice not at all filled with any sort of love or care, but with what sounded like sarcasm and irritation. Steve frowned at this and looked up at Tony sadly, not expecting that. Usually Tony loved it when Steve did that. 

Tony gripped his wrist with his other hand and drew a shaky breath, "Steve... _Please_." He went back to begging, his eyes not on Steve, but rather in front of him, at the living room TV. Tony couldn't bring himself to look at Steve, not when he was covered in bandages, cuts, and bruises. He should've been used to it by now, but he wasn't. He went quiet, chewing on the insides of his cheeks, trying to form his next words but having trouble due to all the emotions swirling around in his head. He needed it to be quiet.

"Tony.." Steve spoke, his voice hoarse. He cleared it and looked at Tony with the slight tilt of his head. "I-I know you worry...I get where you're coming from," His voice was quiet and gentle, though his body ached with internal and external pain, "I understand that you're worried, and you have every right to be..." He looked down at his hands folded in his lap sadly, "You're my lover, so I get why you're upset." He glanced up at Tony, trying for a reaction but getting nothing. "But you're also mine..." He muttered, just loud enough for Tony to hear, "A-and since you are, I don't like other people talking about you in a certain way. It's not right," He shook his head, "and you don't deserve that."

"If I don't deserve stranger's opinions, does that mean I deserve to stumble upon the body of my boyfriend in a back alley knocked out cold? Or dead?" Tony glared, finally turning to look at Steve. "You don't have to do this Steve. I told you, I don't _care_."

"I do!" Steve snapped back, his voice loud now. His head shot up and he narrowed his eyes a bit at Tony as well. "I care! And I know I don't have to do it, but I choose to do it! Tony, I _want_ to do it." He lowered his voice slightly, but the same stubbornness that was Steve Rogers was still pretty evident. 

_'For you, I'd go step to a dude much bigger than me'_

"I just," He sighed and shook his head in frustration, "I just don't understand why you can't see that. I can't let people go out a-and, and...say things about you!" He threw his hands in the air before crossing them over his chest. "I stand up for what I believe to be right, what I know to be right. And Tony Stark being some jerk-ass, asshole, isn't something I know to be true. People can't say those kinds of things about you when they don't even know you, it's not right." 

"You sound like a child," Tony scoffed, shaking his head. "People can call me a jerk-ass, asshole if they want. It's who I was for several years until I met you. And I only show the 'real' me, the me who I wish I was, when I'm with you because I _trust_ you, Steve. I don't need the approval of all those toxic people in the world, hell, I couldn't care less if everyone loved me. All that I want is you, Steve Rogers. A-and I can't have that i-if you die someday in some godforsaken alley because everyone you fight it at least two times your size!" His voice got shaky as he began to panic, his breathing almost labored as he tugged at his hair. "O-oh god..." He muttered, eyes widening. 

_'For you, I know, I would get messed up, weigh one fifty-three'_

"Hey, hey," Steve scrambled up, getting on his knees so that he could get over to Tony on the other side of the couch, cringing at the pain in the side, but ignoring it because Tony needed him. "Tony, look at me, love." His voice was gentle and quiet, he put one bony hand on Tony's shoulder and the other one on his face, gently cupping his cheek and moving his head so that Tony could look at him. "I understand where you're coming from, I do," He said, "but look. I'm here." He leaned forward and gently kissed his cheek, "I'm still here, and I promise to be here for you for as long as the world allows it. I'm still here, despite all the fights I get into, all the fights I get into for you...I'm still here." The hand cupping his cheek went to smooth out Tony's hair, almost like Steve was petting him, "Tony, you know it's going to take a lot more than two, narrow-minded assholes with knives to take me down, right?" He offered him a small smile, his azure blue eyes trying to pull Tony out of his panicked state. "I'm still here..." He wrapped his arms around Tony, bringing him into his chest, a hand on the back of Tony's head, and the other on his back rubbing circles as Steve told him to breathe. 

_ 'For you, I would get beat to smithereens' _

Slowly, but surely, Tony began to calm down. His grip was tight on Steve, but he was careful not to hurt the frail man as he shook and tried to calm down. His face buried in Steve's bandaged chest, he tried to focus on Steve. He was here. He made that very clear. Tony could feel him. He could touch him. He felt like Steve, covered in bandages, small, thin, and bony. Tony could smell him. He smelled like Steve. Despite having being thrown around in an alley he still smelt of the Irish soap he used. And Tony could feel Steve holding him. His hand on his back and on his head, gently stroking him. And Tony could hear him. His gentle voice telling him that it would be okay. That he was okay. That he was here and he wasn't leaving.

But he didn't know that.

Steve was just Steve.

Steve was the same skinny guy from Brooklyn Tony met three years ago through a friend who had told Tony to "Get off your ass and do something with your sad life or else I'll beat you up and not even bat an eye."

Steve was still Steve. He didn't have the authority to decide whether or not he gets to survive a fight. He had no say in the matter. So why the hell did he think he could say all of this to Tony? To reassure him?

_'_ _ You know,  _ _ I'll _ __ _ be _ _ in the corner taking notes.  _   
_ You know,  _ _ I _ _ got your six while  _ _ you're _ _ taking votes' _

"You're a fucking idiot." Tony finally managed out through short, gaspy breaths, his face still buried in Steve's chest, muffling his voice. But it wasn't an insult. It was more of a, 'You're a fucking idiot, but you're MY fucking idiot.'

He pulled away to look at Steve, drawing a shaky breath he forced himself to look at his bruised face. It hurt Tony a lot to look at Steve whenever he got injured in a fight, and he hated that usually the most he could do about it was bandage him up and maybe find the guy who thought it was a good idea to punch Steve's pretty face.

"Tony," Steve said softly, gently cupping his cheek again, "I'm not stupid. You know I'd never pick a fight I know I won't come out of..."

Tony snorted, rolling his eyes, "Steve, I don't know if you know, but you pick a fight no matter what."

Steve let out a small chuckle and shook his head softly, "No, uh, not true."

"Shut up.." Tony muttered. He leaned forward and gently kissed Steve's cut lips, putting his hands gently on Steve's waist, his thumb brushing up against a bandage. He let out a small sigh when he felt Steve kiss back, his eyes slowly closing as he melted into Steve.

He was okay. Yeah, he was going to be okay. Steve was here. Steve was here, and that's all that mattered. For now. He should just enjoy the moment. With Steve. His Steve.

Tony gently pushed Steve back down onto the couch, not breaking the kiss as he did so. Steve complied, making it a lot easier for Tony to do so, and Tony moved to be hovering a little over Steve. He pulled away and moved to Steve's side, wrapping himself around Steve and burying his face in Steve's neck. He was cold to the touch so Tony reached for the blanket and pulled it over the two of them because he knew Steve hated being cold. He trailed small, soft kisses down Steve's neck, his hand tracing up and down Steve's torso before he stopped and let out a sad sigh.

"Tell me what happened.." He muttered, his head on Steve's shoulder. He looked up at Steve through his eyelashes, a frown on his face. Steve himself was frowning too, an arm around Tony and the other laying across his chest. Steve inhaled shakily and bit his lip, avoiding Tony's gaze.

"It was about me, again. You say so," He pointed out, "I want to know what happened..." He watched as Steve tried to work things out in his head. What he'd tell Tony, how he'd tell it, and how exactly he was supposed to express this.

' _But if_ _I'm_ _feeling, someone stepping towards you,_ _can't_ _describe, just how_ _I'm_ _feeling'_

"Well," Steve finally said, drawing a long breath, his eyes focused on the ceiling, "what is it exactly that you want to know? Who the guys were? What they said?"

"I said everything, Rogers," Tony muttered, closing his eyes, "I mean everything."

Steve chuckled softly and glanced over at Tony, "Right...Okay." He blinked a couple of times, making a face as he tried to remember 'everything' that happened for Tony's sake.

Steve already felt terrible for giving Tony such a hard time today, in the past it hadn't gotten to the point of Tony having a panic attack. Or well, Steve wasn't sure about that. It could very well have been that Tony's had panic attacks over Steve in the past but Steve never witnessed them.

_'For you, I'd go step to a dude much_ _bigger_ _than me'_

And he knew he was at fault. He could take Tony's word and advice, ignore the people and carrying on, avoid conflict. But Steve couldn't do that. He needed to prove a point, he needed to take a stand. It was just in him to do that. He couldn't just stand by and let Tony allow people to say those things about him, despite what Tony said about people knowing the old him, or televised version of him. It wasn't right. They should know how loving and caring Tony could be as well. He was anything but selfish. He was loyal, he didn't sleep around. He was careful, he no longer sold weapons to terrorists or people with ill intentions. Tony was Tony. He was Steve's.

And it didn't matter what the media said, though, if he could, Steve would fight the media, about him and Tony. He wasn't stupid. He knew what they said about him regarding his relationship with Tony, and when people in public told him things, whispered things about him he always ignored them. But it was when they brought up Tony or insulted him when Steve took action. That's when he would snap back and get into a fight with, mainly guys, much bigger than him. And he'd gotten into enough fights by now to know how to stand his ground, how to play on the defensive. Because Steve was never for offense, if it came to it, he would play it. But he did everything he could not to go on the offense, and that's usually why he returned to Tony black and blue. Or when Tony would find him slumped over, unconscious in an alley.

_'For you, I know I would get messed up, weigh one fifty-three'_

"Well?" Tony asked, opening his eyes again, his voice pulling Steve out of his thoughts. Steve blinked and looked down at Tony cleared his throat,

"S-sorry..." Steve muttered, "I was just, um, thinking...But I'll tell you what happened." He smiled softly at Tony, reaching over with the hand on his chest to brush some hair out of his face. He smiled, even more, when he saw Tony's eyes follow his hand before blushing lightly at the simple gesture. He always seemed to get flustered over the smaller things. 

"Everything?" Tony reminded with the slight raise of his eyebrow and Steve could tell that he was trying to ignore what had Steve had just done, trying to ease down his blush. 

Steve chuckled, pulling back his had, he nodded, "Yes...Everything." 

"And don't bullshit it either," Tony murmured, closing his eyes and shifting around to get comfortable, "I don't want you leaving out things because you don't think I can't take it. I've seen you in worse conditions, Steve. I think I can handle. So no, 'Dude said this, I got mad, dude threw a punch, I got beat up' kind of thing." 

_ 'For you, I would get beat to smithereens' _

Steve rolled his eyes and laughed, "Alright then, if you're sure you can handle it," He smiled softly when he heard Tony mutter a yes while he buried his head back into Steve's neck, "then I guess I'll tell you everything."

Steve took a moment to start, trying to figure out where was the best place to do so. When he finally recalled the whole thing he began to tell Tony, everything, just as Tony had asked him to do. 

"Normally, I don't go looking for fights," Steve started, "No, that's true, don't scoff." He gently smacked Tony's head. "Fights usually find me, believe it or not. I'll be doing something and then one thing leads to another and..." he trailed off. Sighing and turned his gaze back up at the ceiling, an arm around Tony, "I was at the cafe. Pepper wanted to talk about something with me, but she got stuck in a meeting so she was going to be late. So I waited for her and soon these two guys walk in, and it's clear that there's something not right with them. It's later so there was a possibility that they just got out of club or bar or something and wandered into the cafe thinking it was another spot they could," he cleared his throat, "'hit up'..." 

Tony remained quiet, his chest slowly rising and falling as he listened to Steve explain what happened. He didn't feel like interrupting Steve, asking any questions or making any comments because he liked to listen to Steve talk. Even if it was him explaining why Tony had gotten a call from Pepper saying that Steve had gotten into a fight and he needed to come and get him right away. 

_'You know I had to do one on the record for you'_

"Anyways," Steve exhaled, "at first it was okay. I ignored them best I could, but I guess they spotted me and walked over. It was fine at first, I just thought they were looking for trouble, but then I realized that they recognized me. Probably from the television or those stupid gossip magazines..." He frowned in distaste of the two medias, "Another two guys looking to mess with me over our relationship. Mess with me over you and your past choices and whatnot." Steve closed his eyes before slowly opening them back up, "And since it was just targeted at me in the beginning, I didn't mind. I could ignore their taunts and teasing but..."

_'I'm feeling someone stepping towards you, can't describe just what_ _I'm_ _feeling'_

Tony's eyes tightened a bit and his lips turned in a frown as he heard Steve's voice shift from a quiet tone to a slightly irritated one. He knew that this was when he stepped into the story.

"...then they started to talk about you. Making remarks, the same kind of jazz.." Steve muttered, narrowing his eyes and softly shaking his head in frustration. "The kind of stuff that gets me riled up."

Steve let out a sigh, bringing the hand draped across his chest to his forehead, rubbing his non bruised eye with the back of his hand, "Anyways," he dropped his hand back down, "it was same old same old. I told them to quit it, that they were wrong and shouldn't be talking about you like that. It didn't make any sense for them to be saying all that crap when they had no idea who you really were. The sweet and caring guy who puts up with all recklessness. The guy who takes care of me and all my conditions and refuses to admit that I'm a burden-"

Tony opened his mouth to protest against Steve being a burden, but Steve continued on, knowing that Tony would try to protest against the idea.

"-even though I really am. I mean, who would want to put up with a twenty-five-year-old, ninety-pound asthmatic man who's always picking fights with people who could easily snap him in half? Let alone, who could put up with someone like that _and_ love them? Call them their own? Clearly, it couldn't have been the guy they were talking about." Steve said, his voice stern and determined. "They didn't know _my_ Tony and it was getting on my nerves. The things they said about you," Steve shivered, shaking his head, "I wasn't going to let that slide. Not when it's my job to, well, not protect you, but you know what I mean...My job of being a good boyfriend, I guess..."

_ 'For you, I'd go write a slick song just to show you the world' _

"Of course," Steve muttered, "they did not like the idea of me speaking my mind, even though they were doing it themselves," He added, "and started to pick a fight with me. The topic went from me, to you, and then to us. Our relationship." He drew a shaky breath. "They said a lot of messed up things. About how you only had me around for certain reasons, or about how I probably did it for money or something. Because no one could _possibly_ love someone like me and no one could _possibly_ love someone like you." The amount of disgust and frustration in Steve's voice made Tony grin a little. "Those...numbskulls didn't even know the _half_ of it!" His voice got a bit louder but he sighed and rubbed his face again, avoiding the black eye, and continued, "Well, then the usual slurs and everything, by now I've gotten used to it-" Tony frowned at this, "-but then it weirdly shifted. Usually, they say their slurs and then the fighting breaks out, but this time they said their slurs and continued to push it. They asked...personal things, explicit things. Right there in the cafe."

_ 'For you, I know they think it's messed up to sell out for your girl' _

Tony's stomach churned at his words as his oh so very kind brain supplied him with all the possible questions the two guys could have been asking his Steve. And even if Tony had asked for everything, he made no effort to ask Steve what the guys had said exactly, as he could tell Steve probably wouldn't want to repeat whatever had come out of their mouths.

"I got uncomfortable, and Pepper still hadn't arrived," He paused and then added, "Please don't think it's Pepper's fault, or whoever held her back for a meeting, I had it coming to me." 

Tony raised his head a bit in confusion, opening up his eyes and raising an eyebrow. Of course he wasn't going to be mad at Pepper and take it out on her, he knew it wasn't her fault. And her meetings were important, seeing she was CEO of the company, so no need to get mad at her for doing her job. But Steve saying that he had it coming? That didn't make sense.

And Steve probably sensed the confusion coming from Tony so he simply answered, "I got uncomfortable and so done with their baloney that I punched one of the guys square in the face."

"You what?!" Tony exclaimed, sitting up.

_ 'For you, I'd go step to a dude much bigger than me' _

Steve flinched at Tony's sudden reaction, cringing in pain, though he should have accepted it. Usually, he wasn't the one to throw the first punch. He just would end up irritating the other party enough till they threw the first punch, but this time it was reversed. And maybe it was because they were drunk, or maybe it was because they were saying nasty stuff that people normally didn't say to Steve's face about him and Tony, but whatever it was, it made Steve snap, and he was the one to throw the first punch. And he didn't regret it, no matter how much it hurt his fist and knuckles to have done so.

"I punched the guy," Steve repeated, frowning as he looked up at Tony who looked back down at him with wide, confused eyes. "Just...lay back down," He muttered, putting a hand on Tony's arm and bringing him back down. Tony bit his lip and laid back down again, shifting back into his previous position, though he really wanted to talk about this with Steve. Now the bloodied knuckles made sense. 

"I punched him and the other guy punched me. There were a few punches before some people in the cafe managed to separate us." Steve explained in a quiet voice as he gently stroked Tony's hair. "I was going to take it outside, but, ah," he sighed and chuckled softly, "that didn't work out, obviously..."

'For you, I know I would get messed up, weigh one fifty-three'

"Then, I mean, the rest is the usual..." Steve finished, "I _maybe_ passed out, Pepper called you, you came to get me, they managed to at _least_ get the guys this time since they were drunk, and now here we are." He raised a hand and motioned to around them. "I'm here with you...Perfectly safe." He turned his head to look at Tony with a soft smile before leaning down to kiss the tip of his nose, causing the billionaire to blink several times in confusion before blushing lightly and looking away.

"I just can't believe it..." Tony muttered, shaking his head. He forced himself to look at Steve. Beautiful Steve even with the beat up face and cut lip. He let out a sigh, a small smile forming across his face. "My Steve threw the first punch..." He teased, gently bringing up a hand to Steve's face, brushing out some of his blond hair out of his eyes.

Steve closed his eyes and laughed at this, relief washing over him as Tony didn't seem too upset after the whole thing. Or at least, less upset compared to what he was like previously. "I thought you'd lecture me on that or something. You, after all, don't like me getting into fights."

"I don't." Tony answered, gently rubbing his thumb over Steve's lip. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss there before moving back, "But so long as you come back to me alive Steve Rogers, I guess I could deal with them."

Steve blinked, "Really?

"No."

Steve laughed as Tony lowered himself back down and snuggled into Steve's side once more. He yawned and closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around his skinny boyfriend, being careful not to rub up against any cuts or bruises. 

"I love you, Steve." Tony muttered, his face buried into Steve's side. 

With a happy sigh, Steve wrapped his arm around Tony and closed his eyes as well, "I love you too, Tony."

_ 'For you, I would get beat to smithereens' _


End file.
